New Bridgestone Tyres on Show at F1 Valencia Test

Tetsuro Kobayashi, technical manager at Bridgestone Motorsport was an engaged spectator at Formula One’s pre-season Valencia testing session, with the company’s newly-developed narrower front tyre appearing for the first time on track. It will have been a relief for him to report that “so far… our tyre performance is in line with our expectations.” If this sounds a little elusive, perhaps it is because Kobayashi is waiting for more information before the next tests, both to take place on the South coast of Spain at Jerez. “First of all, we are pleased to have seen the good potential of the 2010 specifications,” he continued, “even though it’s a little difficult to judge fully the true performance because of the special characteristics of the Valencia circuit.”

“We brought the soft and super soft dry compound tyres to Valencia, along with our intermediate and wet weather specifications too. Valencia is a less severe track compared to some and although it has a slightly rough surface we are able to use our softer compounds here. One interesting factor at Valencia however is the front tyre graining caused by the lateral forces, which makes it a good track for us to evaluate the graining resistance of our front tyres. This is in contrast to the Jerez track, where teams will next test, which is much more severe, especially on the rear tyres. So we will be able to check our rear tyre performance more thoroughly next week.” 

Kobayashi revealed that the “medium compound will be supplied as the prime compound for both of the tests and the hard and soft compounds will be available during both week one and week two as option compounds.”

The testing between 1 and 3 February took place at the 4.05 km Circuit Comunitat de la Valenciana, presenting all the teams with the first opportunity to see the final specification of the new narrow front Potenza F1 tyre in action. With dimensions of 245/ 55R13, the new front tyre is 20mm narrower than the 2009 specification when fitted to a rim and is designed to redress the balance of the cars after grooves were removed from the tyres ahead of the 2009 season. Bridgestone will again have four dry tyre compounds (hard, medium, soft and super soft) to cover the 19-race calendar, with two selected per race weekend. 

Seven teams attended the test, with sunny conditions and moderate winds prevailing over the course of the three day test. Jerez testing will take place on 10-13 February, where Bridgestone expects ten teams to be present, including Virgin Racing, the first of the four new F1 teams to break cover. This will be quickly followed by another four days of testing from 17-20 February, when Lotus Racing is also expected to join the group test.